Mistaken Identity
by All.Hail.Kori
Summary: In a world where the Titans are older and Red X only has appeared as Robin in the past, Starfire makes a ridiculous mistake. Short Intro.
1. Chapter 1

I.

"…in ways I really should not"

The red headed woman felt the last words of that phrase echoing in her mind. Only a short hour ago she whispered those very words that would forever change her life. She was sitting with her back hunched over the top of a building. Pushing the thought aside, the chilly wind, which blew across her skin, felt even chillier at this altitude. She studied the setting trying to determine which building she was on. This did look familiar, but was she at the right place? Just earlier she was given instructions to assist in a mission and now she could hardly concentrate on anything.

She kept trying to fill her mind with any senseless thought to avoid the damn comment she couldn't stop thinking about.

"…in ways I really should not"

Closing her eyes she envisioned the scenario she spent the last hour trying to avoid. The setting appeared in her mind and her thoughts where lost.

 **First Flashback:**

The team was exiting the large shuttle that brought them to the tower that evening. It was around 6PM and the Titans had finished rounding up all loose ends around the city. By "loose ends", Robin was referring to the small time criminals that may have gotten away in the last month or so.

He made it imperative in their daily morning meeting that the streets be clean for the coming weekend. It was only a week ago that he travelled to Gotham to meet up with Batman for "business" reasons. What he meant by business she truly had no idea but trusted it was for good reason. The problem was ever since he came back he was on everyone's ass. No lounging around, no down time, and sure as hell no fun was allowed ever since that trip.

Garfield was the first to jump out of the shuttle. "Dude, it's about time we made it back. Why didn't Raven just teleport us here," he half-heartedly joked trailing off to turn around and look at his teammate.

Raven silently exited the shuttle and walked passed him only marginally raising her voice. "I try not to use my powers for pointless things but if you complain one more time you will find yourself in a far away place where you can complain yourself to death."

Starfire then remembered exiting next and running up behind Raven. She remembered glancing to her right to see Garfield's dejected face gazing down. She stopped immediately and embraced him in a deep hug. Even she knew how much specifically her words meant to him

She let her green friend go murmuring into his ear, "We are all a bit overworked. Please do not listen to her in this irritated state. You know she does not mean that."

It was then that she observed a large cybernetic hand gently land on his black and purple outfit. They both turned to see Cyborg opportunely cracking his neck and sighing out loud. "I think we definitely need to take a break."

The group started walking away when their last teammate stepped out and loudly stated, "No rest. I have just been alerted on a possible drug deal happening in the heart of the city tonight. Everyone we will be going undercover or incognito on this one. I was tipped off on the area and we are talking about ex-Gotham cons coming to pull off the robbery. I can't risk any of us being seen and letting this slip through the cracks."

Cyborg turned around with a sleepy face. "We have been awake since 2AM thanks to you. I don't want to sound like a non-team player here but can't some of us sleep? Do we really need the entire team for this?"

The question reverberated through everyone's ears so much that even Raven stopped walking to hear what Robin's response would be. He walked right passed Cyborg speaking only briefly. "Everyone be ready in two hours; it is going be a long night."

She recalled glancing at Cyborg's face and could almost sense his rage detonate.

Something was off. She knew the team had slowly been falling apart but did not expect this amount of conflicting viewpoints from everyone. Even when they had problems before, not more than a few days went by before everything was back to normal but this was different.

Was it their age? She had been a part of this team for nearly four years. They had experienced so much together and all for what, nothing? No, she refused to let this happen. She knew the first thing she had to do was address the problem at its source.

 **End of first flashback**

She suddenly stood up from the ledge of the building feeling the anticipation fill her emotions. Why did she have to always please everyone and keep the team happy? It would have surely fixed itself, right?

Her left hand was balled into a fist in front of her as the thoughts raced her mind. The alien princess let out a deep sigh similar to Cyborg's she heard earlier that day. She was more fatigued than she originally thought. As much as she wanted to blame Robin for her current state of mind, she knew she was to be held accountable for her own actions. Her heart raced with the thought of their last encounter. She closed her eyes once more and let the thoughts rush to her.

 **Second Flashback**

She knocked on Robin's door with sheer determination written across her face. This team would get along if it were the last thing she did on this planet. Robin then called out loudly in an impassive tone from his room, "I'm busy putting together a plan. I'll come get you all in a bit so please go away." The cold words heightened her frustration with their leader but she relaxed and replied calmly. He would at least let her in if he knew it was her she assumed. "Robin, it is I. May I have a word with you?"

She heard a small click and then the door swooshed open.

She entered his dark room and saw Robin sitting at his desk going over what seemed to be floor plans to a large building and the surrounding ones. He seemed so focused. She glanced back realizing he didn't close his door expecting this to be a quick pep talk of some sort. She had seen him enter this overworked state before and it was never good. He had made mistakes in this crazy work state of mind that almost cost him the team in the past and she refused to let him go any further. Although she admired his perseverance more than anyone else in the world, she also recognized that only she could bring him back to being human.

Starfire approached the tense man and stood directly behind him looking at his plans from above. He continued to shuffle through a few more floor plans furthermore continuing to pay little attention to her. It wasn't typical for her to be this close to him and he be this caught up in his work.

She wanted to start asking why he was being so harsh with the team but was interrupted by an appeasing scent hitting her nostrils.

She shut her eyes and breathed in recognizing how masculine it was. Her green eyes reopened realizing it was Robin's scent. _Your scent…is very…desirable,_ she mentally told to herself involuntarily placing one hand gently at the top of his upper back. He didn't seem to notice until she began tracing her finger down his back.

The sheer motion of her nails running down his spine faintly made his body shutter.

The lack of rustling noise the papers were previously making broke her out of her short daze. It was then that she felt time freeze. The only tangible movement was the restless beating heart in her body pounding faster and faster by the second. Her eyes closed once more with her inner most desires starting to pour out of her soul.

Her fingers continued to snake up and down his spine without an additional response from his figure. Her mind began to panic slightly. _Maybe I am the only one enjoying this,_ she pondered to herself. At this point she really didn't care. All of the emotions she had kept hidden away for the sake of their friendship were erupting faster than she could handle. The team was falling apart and if they did split up, she wanted to say she at least had the courage to express her feelings for her best friend and leader of the Titans.

 _Now or never…_

She slowly bent down and tenderly kissed the small space that wasn't covered by the top of his cape on his neck. The moment her lips touched his skin she felt the passion she kept secret finally escape.

It was almost a blur how everything happened so fast but she was able to recognize the slight tilt of his neck inviting her to explore more. Without a word from either party she slowly moved her mouth to his ear. It was almost inaudible, but she sensually whispered into his ear. "I think about you at night sometimes in ways I really should not," she trailed off sounding a lot more erotic than initially intended.

It was then that she finally started to see the physical reactions to her action. Robin's body stayed motionless, but his breathing became very heavy and slow. What she would give to understand what was going through his damn mind. She blinked a few times waiting for any given response but none occurred. His head remained slightly tilted to the right in what looked like was the most difficult battle of his mind happening at the moment.

She wanted to giggle at the thought but didn't want to kill the mood she created. He wasn't saying no or walking away so that was at least some indication there was some reciprocated feelings happening somewhere in his head. She smirked and decided to hell with her insecurities and fears. She wasn't a teenager anymore and realized she had more control over Robin than she ever would have imagined. Appreciating the fact that she also knew her personal and respective limits, she still wanted to at least explore what could potentially be for a bit longer.

In what felt like an eternity, a small audible exhale was heard from Robin's mouth followed by her favorite word drenched in desire, "Star."

The largest smile she probably had ever made in her life covered her face. Just as she was about to spin his chair around, two other Titans ran into his room. The two didn't even get a chance to lock eye contact before Garfield started yelling, "Dude! Do you not hear the alarm going off? There was a silent alarm tripped in the area you wanted to scope out earlier."

Robin jumped out of his seat rapidly running his hand through his hair. "Damn it, I didn't even hear the alarm. I'm sorry," he indistinctly replied running out of the room towards the main area of the tower. Cyborg and Garfield stared at Starfire's blushed face conclusively sensing they probably walked in on something strange.

Cyborg scratched the back of his head, "Umm, is everything ok?"

Starfire chuckled understanding Robin used whatever tactic he could to avoid his emotions like always. She smiled a toothy grin before the two men took off to the main room. Standing there for a few seconds to fully appreciate what jut happened, she finally decided to leave his room.

Within moments she made her way to the main room where Robin was already going over the plans with the group. She was only able to get the end of the plan by the time she arrived.

"So you will wait in the west wing of the building with Cyborg and await further orders if possible. If not, then I will push them out as far as I can but you cannot attack until I give you the sign," he finished telling Raven.

He then turned to face Garfield. "Alright, you and I will enter in disguise. I hacked the system and will infiltrate as one of them," he stated getting a nod of approval from his green team member. He then turned to face Starfire who was having trouble following along.

Their eyes met for the first time since they stepped off the shuttle that evening. She of course could only see a mask, but she was pretty sure her emotions were plastered all over her face. He quickly cleared his throat and then proceeded to explain her task.

"Star, you will be in the building to the north. It's a twenty story building but you will have an excellent aerial view in case anything goes wrong," he calmly ordered. She heard the words but was having trouble processing the information. Her whole mind was in frenzy without a possible way out. She lightly nodded as he continued, "if I don't push them out the west wing, then their only possible option is the sky bridge connected to your assigned building. Cyborg will move positions to block the bottom of that building and then I'll push them up to you or wait for them with to get there with you. There is a small helicopter that you have to make sure they do not board, is that clear," he asked her in a stricter tone.

She smiled and nodded. The red head wanted to ask him to repeat the instructions but didn't want to upset him while he was in his intense leader mode. Plus, as long as no bad guys went to her building, then this would give Robin the break he had been waiting for. Maybe it would give him a sense of happiness and let the team relax with it. Hopefully afterward he could confess to her why this weekend was so important to him.

She felt the familiar wave of adventure penetrate her soul. Somehow, she knew tonight would be special. Before she could think more into it, she heard the well-known words of a determined leader, "Titans, GO!"

 **End of Second Flashback**

She let go of the balled up fist she previously held as she recollected the recent past events. It had been at least 40 minutes, yet she had failed to see a single other body other than that of her own on the roof.

"Xhal, why are earth men so complicated," she sighed out while she rubbed her temples with her fingers.

Starfire then heard faint police sirens from below. She bent down and looked down onto the streets below. She saw three police cars speeding down the adjacent street that let to the highway. The thought of the police following the perpetrators that her teammates were going after crossed her mind but quickly left as it came. Surely if they were hunting the same criminals then her team would also be seen on their tail. _Must be some small time criminal,_ she thought dismissing the idea.

It was then that she sat on the ledge awaiting any signal. Her communicator started ringing loudly.

She quickly picked up the transmission to hear distortion but it was definitely Robin's voice. "Star, I am headed your way. I think we forced them up. I'll meet you there in two minutes," the transmission ended.

Starfire smiled decisively getting ready for some actions. She needed to let off some steam. In her own way she hoped these criminals were carrying heavy artillery so she could really let loose. Before standing up to anticipate Robin's arrival, she heard foot steps on the roof of the building with Robin running across the backside of the roof. Wearing what seemed to be a his disguise, he took off his mask from afar and seemed to be running to another building. His familiar black hair could be seen bouncing off the moonlit sky.

 _Is that his old Red X outfit? Strange choice of disguise,_ she questioned herself. He did seem far away though. _I can barely see him from this side of the rooftop._

Just as he was about to jump buildings, she called out to him to stop. _How did he not see me waiting for him? He must be full of adrenaline and forgot the exact building,_ she thought inwardly.

"Robin!" she cheerfully called out. "Don't leave without me! Where are you going?" she asked loudly as she flew to his side of the roof. Her boots touched the ground and she then realized he had already reapplied his mask.

Her eyes concentrated in detail on his old Red X outfit he once wore to get closer to their former nemesis Slade about three years ago. This outfit almost ruined him back in the day, but their bond as a team had also grown since then. "Um, interesting choice of disguise," she kindly commented. "No one came with you?" she started questioning him looking around for any potential harm caused to her other team members. To her surprise, he was solo.

Silence. He was frozen looking as if he didn't know what to do or say.

She took a step closer now only about two feet from his body. She grinned trying to cheer up the mood. "Is everything ok?" She placed a hand on his chest and only then realized how much he had grown over the years. His well-built chest seemed more defined than ever through the thin material of the black uniform. She felt the familiar heat start to hit her face with the touch. Her eyelids lowering with the simple thought of their earlier moment together.

He looked directly at her trying to figure out what was occurring. He then took a small step forward closing the small gap between them.

His gesture of closing the space seemed like an open invitation to her. She rapidly pulled up his mask half way and embraced him in a passionate kiss. She felt her body tingle with the warm sensation of his lips. It was everything she expected it to be. There was desire, intensity, but also a soft longing touch to it. A few moments passed before he broke the kiss, most probably for a breath of air. She felt his grip that was now on her lower back firmly pressing her up against his hard body. It was the most glorious moment she had ever experienced.

With that last thought, she felt her body get gently pushed away. She then felt the cool air of the night hit her body once more as the protection of the kind body that previously held her was gone. She didn't like this distance in their bodies. Baffled, she reclosed the gap and moved her face to his ear. "Do you think about me at night too?"

She just needed a simple maybe, yes, possibly, anything to finally have the courage to confess her feelings for him. She was tired of being alone in this world and had fallen head over heels with her leader over the years. She just needed ANYTHING to move forward from this chaotic state of mind. She was ready to make the next step.

She heard his heavy slow breathing return but it seemed to be filled with lust rather than contemplation this time. He took a small stride back grabbing his mask, which was halfway raised up, and pulled it off completely.

 _ **NOT ROBIN**._

There in front of her stood a man with similar jet-black hair and the purest blue eyes she had ever witnessed. Her body instinctively took 3 large steps back in attempt to widen the space between her and this stranger.

She felt her body go limp in absolute disbelief. She wasn't sure what freaked her out more, the complete shock that seemed to have slapped her across her face with the widespread failure of identifying the real Robin in his old Red X suit or the utter confusion in the strangers face.

He finally opened his mouth to address the strange situation that just occurred. Before words were able to escape, Starfire's communicator went off. She automatically answered it out of habit without really assessing the situation she was in.

"Starfire! Where are you," Raven's voice filled the incredibly quiet rooftop.

Starfire replied as calmly as she could without breaking her eye contact with the figure in front of her. "I am on the building to the South as Robin requested."

Raven's voice could be heard responding before she finished the last syllables to her response. "Starfire! You are supposed to be in the building to the NORTH. Move! He needs your help."

Starfire felt absolute embarrassment even more than the one she just experienced a few moments ago. She placed her hand on her forehead recalling that Raven was right. She was in the wrong building. Just then she heard a helicopter taking off in the distance.

Her eyes started glowing green in anger at her actions that brought her to this very moment. She dropped to one knee trying to regain control of her emotions when a warm gloved hand touched her chin. She gazed up and saw this new Red X with his mask repositioned. "I don't know who you are or why you just did what you did but you seem to be needed," he calmly stated in a low husky voice. He lazily traced a small X-pattern on the right side of her collarbone with his free hand. "Go," were the last words heard before he pressed a button on his utility best and disappeared into the night.

Her eyes lost their angered glow with his strong words running through her head. She didn't have time to ponder on anything anymore. She clenched her fists at her ridiculous actions of the night and flew off into the sky to make amends.

* * *

Short and to the point- R&R


	2. Chapter 2

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am a HUGE ROBSTAR FAN...like HUGE.

* * *

II.

Robin stood in the middle of the empty dusky street pinching his nose in utter frustration. The plan that took a whole day to strategize died the moment he put it into action. Raven and Starfire were missing. His failure to be a leader in this mission and his recent failures with Batman came crashing down all at this instant.

The boy wonder placed both gloved hands sharply to his head trying to silence the endless destructive deliberations trying to escape. He ducked down onto his knees. Everything he worked for was for nothing. All the long training hours, the sacrifices, the life itself he came to adopt was all for absolutely zilch.

No surprise Batman still felt the need to constantly be checking up on him as if he were a child. Hell, here he was a grown man and he couldn't even stop a simple heist. The only person he could ever view as a father figure still had no trust in his abilities to be the superhero he was diligently trained for. And to top it off, he knew his team had slowly grown to hate him for that.

In their earlier years, things were more laid-back. Villains were mostly small time crooks, with a small handful of exceptions. Now, crime was unforgiving. How did he let the city get this bad? He turned around to see the faces of Garfield and Cyborg staring emptily at him. It was at that moment that he knew they saw it all too.

The caped leader turned to an old dumpster to his left and kicked it with all of his might.

"We can't even do one damn thing right! What type of team is this?! Where the hell was Starfire?! She was supposed to be at her position. Fucking Starfire?!" he yelled out loud into the chilly open air furthermore kicking the dent he just made even deeper.

Cyborg's anger hit the level of no coming backing. "Listen Robin, things didn't go as planned. Blaming it on Starfire isn't going to change anything. Stop using her as your scapegoat for frustration. Just because you know she will never attack you back doesn't mean I will let you talk about her like that man!" he hollered back at the pissed off spandex-clad man in front of him.

Robin knew everything Cyborg stated was true, but his ego wouldn't let the argument die there. For a second, he saw her innocent figure appear in his mind. That amazing perfect person…. and just like that his anger kicked in and the rage towards disappointments clouded everything.

"She screwed up. I am calling her out on it. Those are both true facts. No amount of shielding you attempt to do will cover that up. Three criminals got away thanks to her. Nothing you say can change that," he continued with his voice covered in spite.

Cyborg felt as if he was about to pound his poor irrational soul into the ground. Garfield noticed this and ran towards Cyborg attempting to stop the large man from doing just that.

Moments later, an opaque large ominous bird-figure appeared to their left and out came three unconscious men in typical burglary attire tied and bound. The large figure immediately transformed into a human-like body and out emerged a furious Raven.

The cloaked woman dropped the large bag of cash that was in her hand straight to the ground with force. "I can sense both of your irritating words from miles away! You can both shut the hell up. "

She then took a step towards Robin aiming every word at him "Are you happy? Here are your precious criminals you tirelessly obsessed over. Your streets are clean so stop being a damn asshole to everyone. And leave Starfire out of this. She is the only one who cares enough to sympathize in you even when you lash out like a child and you still have the audacity to attack her the one time she makes a mistake?!"

Robin stared into the eyes of hell, or at least what seemed like it. Garfield once again jumped in between both parties deciding it was time to cool it down now or never. Inwardly, he knew these were the words he needed to here though.

"Guys! Okay, everyone cool down. We all just need to probably sleep. It has been a long day and tempers are running extremely high. Let's just find Starfire and go home," he ended, hoping his words were enough to bring reason to the fuming group.

* * *

 **MOMENTS EARLIER**

The white-skull masked figure landed on his motorcycle ready to meet his buyer. Who would have thought agreeing to this incredibly elementary theft would have brought him such fortune. Only a few minutes had passed where earlier he had met the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen.

He made sure the stolen computer microchip that was at stake was safely secured in his black utility belt as he kicked his motorcycle into gear.

 _Time to get the hell out of here…_

He started heading north slowly trying to find out exactly how to get to his buyer's location. He had time to kill before the meet up time. He started kicking himself mentally for not requesting an earlier drop off time. Just as that thought hit, his mind raced backed to the image of that woman from earlier.

 _How did I end up on that rooftop?_ Sure he had hit a couple random obstacles while retrieving the microchip in the tech building, but he hardly ever chose to escape via rooftop. Even at that very moment, he wasn't sure why he decided to evade the cops through that route. He could have effortlessly dodged a whole squad of cops but still, he chose the rooftop as his escape course.

He remembered pushing the door to the roof open as the silent alarm lights were brightly blinking red. The fresh cool air of the night had barely hit his face when he detected a random woman sitting on the ledge of the building. He was only able to see her backside, but he viewed an extremely curvy woman with what looked like a purple crop top and a matching purple skirt looking out into the city.

His nature was to keep things simple. He recalled rationalizing it as a senseless prostitute probably about to commit suicide. _None of his business_ , so he decided to continue with his mission on getting the hell out of there.

He began running towards the next building while simultaneously wishing the crazy prostitute a quick and painless death. The next building over was an abandoned lab, which housed nothing inside, so he figured he could determine the location of his drop off location there with no interruptions. Quickly taking off his mask, he sprinted in that direction. He was a mere few feet from switching buildings when he moved his hand to press the X on his utility belt. Before he had the chance to press the button, he heard the strangest word being directed to him. "ROBIN!"

He almost stumbled on his own two feet with the random name-calling. He swiftly stopped mid run to find out why the crazy prostitute lady was calling him a _bird_. Instincts kicking in, he quickly placed his mask back on as he turned around to see what the hell was going on. She muttered something else but he didn't quite catch it. She landed in front of him.

 _NOT A PROSTITUTE._ He wasn't certain what occurred next but he sure as hell remembered the Not-Prostitute-Lady-Turned-Hot-Goddess sticking her tongue in his mouth as she made out with him for a few moments followed by her asking if she thought about him at night.

He blinked when he heard a truck horn a few blocks down realizing he subconsciously managed to park his motorcycle only ONE BLOCK DOWN from the building he came down.

"What the hell am I doing?" he yelled out loud to himself.

Red X chuckled a bit realizing he involuntarily made a small pit stop in his mission to recall the events. He took this moment to notice his breathing was slowing and his body was starting to tense up with thoughts of her. With the amount of women he had spent his leisurely time with, he thought he could control all impulses including those sexual ones.

 _Well well, looks like someone caught my interest,_ he devilishly smirked behind his mask. Snickering once more, he thought bacl to why he even let her go in the first place. _Screw it,_ Red X assumed while getting his bike going again.

The black figure made it about another block down when he noticed a group of costume wearing people arguing quite noisily. He gradually stopped his bike assuming these were the Teen Titans everyone warned him about. He knew there were 3 guys and 2 girls. The group matched the description, minus one person, but the large robotic-like man in the middle made it obvious he had the right group.

He casually glanced at his watch. _Still some time to kill, why not make one last pit stop and meet my new friends_ , he thought smiling slightly. He parked his motorcycle and sneaked in around 10 feet from the group hiding in the shadows. They were so wrapped up in some loud fight they had no idea they were being watched.

Red X skillfully inched closer and closer hearing what he presumed to be the end of the conflict. His first glance around he noticed a large bag of cash laying casually to the left of the group. No one was paying any attention to it. It made it almost impossible to pass up.

 _I suppose I could use some date money,_ he snickered to himself inaudibly. Knowing now was a perfect chance, he took one small step out of the shadows and into the lit street.

* * *

 **Then**

Robin felt the sense and logic slowly starting to come back to him. Every word he uttered earlier echoed back into his head only now processing correctly. He had never felt like such an ass in his entire life than right now.

He again pinched the bridge of his nose while making a grimacing facial expression ultimately knowing his team deserved an apology. "Titans, I apologize for my burst of frustration. You are all that I have. Every single one of you. … And Star. Look, she means so much to me," he began.

Cyborg and Garfield both grinned at each other with that last comment. Garfield butted in laughing, "Duuuude, we aaalllllll knnnoooowww!" The remaining members busted into a low chuckle at the slow but expected realizations of their leader.

Just then, a large red X was thrown at Raven causing her to powerfully hit the alley wall they had slowly walked into. Robin cursed himself for neglecting the fact that they still had criminals caught and that they probably had back up somewhere. He shouted out to the team, "Titans, move out!"

Garfield immediately ran towards Raven to make sure she was okay. "Raven! Snap out it!" he yelled, as it seemed she was in a daze from the unexpected attack. Her dark lavender eyes popped open with rage. The pale woman began chanting, "Azarath Met….," but didn't finish as another red x, but tinier, was thrown to her mouth.

The green changeling didn't bother to turn around and look for the attacker. He was too frantic trying to free her from the red goo.

Cyborg had slipped behind the dumpster as Robin ran behind a car trying to scope out the assailant. He couldn't see anything but then heard Cyborg yelling, "3 o'clock!" as he blasted from his arm a beam to the wall. Robin's mind was racing, _THAT ATTACK ON RAVEN…THAT WAS MY OLD SUIT'S ATTACK!_

Not more than a second passed when another red x was thrown at Robin. He dodged it in time but accidently ran into a red stop sign in his effort not get hit. The pain shot up his nose and all over his body.

He heard a deep low chuckle from behind him. "You think a bright red sign would catch more of your attention Mr. Leader," Red X commented as he jumped into combat with Robin.

Robin felt the humiliation sting with another added layer of embarrassment recognizing that he was about a fraction of a second slower than the black covered figure wearing his old skulled mask. Every hit hurt more and more as he was barely able to counter it in time. He felt he could predict the way this fight would end if he didn't change something soon. Robin yelled out instantaneously, "Cyborg shoot!"

The half robot half man had been aiming his sonic blaster at the two fighting bodies but was unable to target the enemy. He shouted in response, "Rob, you two are moving too fast. If I shoot now I will hit you both!"

Robin dodged one last hit before hearing the most irritating taunting words from his attacker's mouth. They followed, "Let me know when Mr. Leader try outs are. I think I can show your team a thing or two about leadership."

It was then that Robin knew whoever he was must have heard their earlier expressive argument. _NO, he spied on our most heated argument;_ the wrath in his head almost popped a blood vessel. Robin proceeded to shout at his attacker, "who the hell are you and what do you want!?"

The masked fighter didn't bother to reply while pressing a button on his utility belt and disappearing effortlessly. The fighter reappeared behind Cyborg sending in his direction a giant red x falling from the sky and down onto his body, ultimately pinning him down motionlessly.

"Two down and two more to go," the figure stated while turning his attention to Garfield who was still desperately trying to release Raven. "Make that three down," he inwardly smiled facing his attention now to Robin.

The two engaged once more into a mixed martial arts battle trying to overcome the other. This only lasted about 15 seconds before a soft but loud voice could be heard directed at them.

* * *

 **Moments before**

Starfire scanned the ground from the sky trying to find her team. She would have found them faster if it were daytime but for some reason she could not locate her friends. The alien beauty took a deep breath knowing she had to focus and not think about her mistake if she expected to make amends.

Within an instant, she located her friends in what seemed to be an on-going battle. Her eyes bulged not believing they had yet to stop the heist and hoping she still had a chance to redeem herself. The joy overfilled her body while she zoomed down to the street to the fight, but what she saw before her she could not believe.

There before her very eyes were Robin and the Red X doppelganger fighting each other. She didn't have time to notice the other members in distress before she called out to the fighting duo. "Stop!"

The two figures slightly turned their attention to the red-headed woman calling out to them. Red X noticed how this woman got more of Robin's attention than he anticipated. He used this golden opportunity to punch him in his abdomen sending him flying towards an old fire hydrant nearby. He immediately sent a red x flying his way to make sure the rascal didn't move. _KO_

Starfire realized how her statement caused Robin to lose concentration leading to his defeat. Her guilt-stricken conscious felt worse when she comprehended that she had yet to move or make any attack to his assailant. She also realized that the man in the Red X suit noticed this too.

He started walking slowly towards her. He made a quick detour to the right and picked up the money in the bag, which was still lying on the ground. He then continued to advance in his route towards the woman. Every step closer felt like the air was thinning out. Seconds later, he stood directly in front of her. The light post directly above her displayed every inch of her face for the first time. There was no motion for a few seconds before he finally spoke. "Hi again, cutie."

Starfire's face erupted in a pink flush. She felt her body temperature start to rise with the proximity of his body. HIM AGAIN OF ALL PEOPLE. _What are you doing?! You don't even know who this is. DO SOMETHING,_ she mentally yelled at herself.

He placed his left hand on her cheek slowly and lightly running his gloved thumb on it. "So you are with them," he stated while taking a quick glance at the light chaos he caused behind him. "As much as I am dying to know why you did what you did earlier on the roof, I think I better like not knowing. If anything, you have intrigued me," he continued while moving his hand on her cheek slowly down to her neck and back to her collarbone as he had done earlier that night. It almost seemed if he was communicating in a low but sexy groan.

Starfire felt heat start to build between her legs with that last statement. _Why is he saying it in such a way…_

Their deep concentration on one another was broken when they heard distressed grunts coming from the fire hydrant. He turned to face her once more. "I like you. By the looks of your actions, I can say I have your full attention as well. How about I do this for show. I wouldn't want your bird friend losing his shit again as he did earlier," he finished with a sexual pretext added.

He slowly put enough pressure on his index finger to start lightly pushing her body back towards a bricked wall behind her. Step by step she reversed walked having him lead the short way to the wall. It was almost as if she was in a trance. Her back lightly hit the hard bricks when he then took a step away from her.

"You wouldn't want them thinking you let me go, now would you?" he calmly stated. She crossed her arms letting her fight start to come out. "And what makes you think I am letting you go," she replied as a small smirk displayed itself on her mouth. "I don't even know you. Plus, you wounded my friends," she finished while shifting her weight from one hip to another.

Robin's voice could now be heard calling out to Starfire. "Watch out! He has all my old moves!"

Before she had a chance to process that, Red X threw a gentle but quick Red X at her. She could hardly feel the impact as she was already next to the wall. He now stood in front of her with his own arms crossed against his chest in glory. Robin's voice could be heard shouting louder and louder in the background, "Don't you dare touch her!"

Somehow, she knew Red X was getting off by knowing how irritated he was making Robin. If only she could tell Robin he wouldn't hurt her. But she really didn't know what he would do?

Red X turned back making sure Robin was fully conscious and looking at them now. He then turned his attention back to his alien beauty he easily managed to trap.

"I'll be thinking about you tonight if that answers your initial question and in more ways than you think," he commented inching his face closer and closer using that same deep voice as earlier.

That last comment shifted the narrative she viewed earlier. She quickly realized how this egotistical unknown person must feel knowing how he played her like a puppet. She let her unexplored sexual desires control her actions and she lost a sense of her self in the process.

Her eyes glowed green in frustration as she let out a power eye beam, releasing itself straight in his direction. He easily dodged it as she expected but she hoped he got the message.

He busted into a small laughter realizing and processing the very thing she just did. The black caped figure quickly raised his mask half way and grabbed her hand. He gently kissed the top of it, hoping it would show his respect. Her eyes widened as she saw his bottom portion of his face once more. The devilish smirk plastered on his mouth only made her own grin grow wider, and that pissed her off even more.

"I'll remember this," the tanned woman commented in a vengeful tone at the man readjusting his mask. He picked up his bag while hearing Robin scream obscenities at him. He looked at her one last time replying playfully, "I sure hope you will."

She then witnessed a small vial being thrown from his hand at the wall above her while he walked away. It instantly broke and released a warm solution, which easily dissolved the holding compound in X strapping her down. She broke out of it in a jiffy but noticed that he had vanished from the scene.

Robin, still stuck, called out to her once more. "Starfire! Are you okay!"

She took in that statement as literally as possible. _Am I okay? Would a sane person, no, would a sane HERO act in the manner that I did?_

The thought entered her mind but she forced it deep down where she pushed her earlier emotions as well. She could wonder about that later. For now, her team still needs her and she could at least fake saving the day to make up for her initial mistake.

She flew towards Robin to make amends.

* * *

Author's note: Things finally pick up next chapter, YAY.


	3. Chapter 3

_III._

 _You are not a true hero. Your actions are despicable. You let your team down. You are worthless._ The cruel words played like a broken record in her mind.

The tanned alien slumped her heavy head against the glass windshield of the T-car with the same thoughts echoing over and over again. Within the vehicle, four dejected and heavy-eyed Titans attempted with all their might to make the twenty-minute trip back to the tower.

The missing member was still nowhere to be found. Robin had taken off from the scene on his motorcycle without saying a word.

That alone frustrated her, but if she put herself in his shoes, she wouldn't know what she would say either. That night he managed to see his plans burn in flames, to discover some thief had broken into the tower and stolen his old suit, and also managed to see another man flirt with the very girl who openly and affectionately touched him just earlier that day.

 _I opened the communication towards a romantic relationship with Robin and kissed another unknown man later on. I also really, really liked it._ The new thoughts started to play on repeat in her mind as she pathetically curled up into a ball in her passenger seat of the car. _**Who**_ _ **in the world am I?**_

Cyborg looked in the rear view mirror as Garfield had started to fall asleep on a stiff Raven. The empath briefly looked down with a warm smile on her face that also strangely matched her body tone. That very look unfortunately then changed from comfort to anger pretty quickly. She instantly shrugged him off and huffed in annoyance.

He knew in the past year Raven had opened up to the team more than she ever had in the past. Those months were pretty amazing. She was actually smiling more than she was pissed, but that all came to a stand still suddenly one night about two months ago. The half demon, which had been getting closer and more caring with Garfield, abruptly had a change of heart. It was as if she woke up one day with the sole purpose of making his life miserable.

She no longer went with him to catch a movie. She no longer made him teas in the morning. She even quit falling asleep on him anytime missions ran long into the night causing the team to crash out in the car on their journey home. This very scenario played before him with reversed roles as Garfield quickly woke up from the swift motion of her shoulder.

Garfield moved to an upright position, "Rave, what gives," he rasped slowly rubbing his eyes.

Silence came as Raven refused to grant him a response. Cyborg's eyes remained on the road but he quickly took one last glance into the rearview mirror watching Garfield doze off to sleep against the opposite side of the window away from Raven. He also witnessed a melancholy Raven give her green comrade a quick sad glare and then saw her look off into the scenery of the night through her own respective window.

He was almost home. Cyborg knew he just needed to get the team home so they could all get rest and figure out how to move forward tomorrow. The T-Car pulled into the garage as the four Titans exited the vehicle all dragging themselves to their rooms. All but one Titan instantly fell asleep the second their lethargic bodies hit their bed.

The last Titan pulled up to the tower shortly after refusing to enter. The over grown, spikey haired man parked his bike and walked over to the various large rocks which separated the sea from land. He sat on a flat squared rock trying to analyze the night. His emotions had got the best of him once again and that killed him more than anything. With sleep being the last thing on his exhausted mind, he gazed out into the moonlit night.

* * *

 **Morning**

Garfield took a small sip of his hot tea waiting for Raven and Robin to make their way to the main room. He glanced over at the empty spot next to him making sure there was a fresh cup of tea in the low table in front of the sofa.

Each morning for the past six months, he had made his and Raven's tea. It wasn't until recent months that she stopped drinking it and she would just leave it there while she made her own. He really did not know what he did or what could have happened to her to switch on him but he wanted to make she knew indirectly that whenever she was ready, he would be there.

The thought vanished when he watched Cyborg bring Starfire toast and a cup of coffee. Last night's recap was more than enough to remind him that today would be one hell of a day. Robin's absurd outburst on the team along with the Titans ultimately letting a thief get the upper hand on them was going to make the mornings meeting a nightmare. Yet, he took another sip from his cup waiting for the remaining Titans to arrive.

Robin slowly entered the large room where all four waiting Titans sat. All eyes followed his firm posture all the way to his seat. He dryly cleared his throat knowing he was ready to ascend to his given role.

"Titans, as we all know yesterday night was a terrible night for us all," he began. "I failed you as I did not provide the proper guidance to complete the mission successfully. When push came to shove, I let my frustration with the situation cloud my leadership, and for that I apologize," he continued now standing up looking at both Raven and Cyborg.

He directed his attention to the rest of the Titans now. "I CANNOT let another night like that repeat itself. I also understand that was in part because I pushed you all past the limit in terms of resting. I can't apologize for unforeseen circumstances, but we will work harder to cooperate as a team," he finished.

Starfire swallowed the small piece of toast she continually chewed on throughout the small speech, never taking her eyes off him. The authority and earnestness radiating from Robin had never made her prouder.

He made a small glance at Starfire noticing her eyes starting to shine with respect. Robin inwardly grinned as he continued. "I blame myself for last night, but let us focus on the present," he said turning around and turning on the video feed on the wide screen behind him. "Some burglar broke into our tower three weeks ago at around 3 AM. This thief managed to get past out security system and took only one thing from my personal vault. The Red X suit I foolishly created years ago is now in the hands of an unknown individual and retrieving it will now be our number one priority. "

Starfire's body shuddered at the sound of his name. _Red X._

Robin furrowed his brows slightly together trying to make sense of Starfire's body language while continuing his speaking. "That suit was specifically made to counter all of your individual attacks. We must proceed with caution. On another note, I am leaving for Gotham for a couple days. I trust you all with the city, but I wanted to make sure minimal corruption would take," he said when Starfire cut him off.

"You're leaving?" she called out with her voice covered in worry. Raven, Cyborg, and Garfield all looked at her grinning with the same expression they had given Robin just the night before.

Robin couldn't help but release a wide grin from cheek to cheek expressing the obvious pleasure he received from her comment. "Star, no you did not let me finish," he cut back in. "I was going to say Batman only needs me for a couple days and then I am coming straight home."

Starfire realized she probably sounded like one of those fangirls who always sent him mail, but she really didn't care. She knew that at least the other members of the team knew her feelings for Robin and he didn't seem to be bothered by her comment either. Still, he said he was leaving for the week. _No, we didn't finish our talk from the other day,_ her thoughts died there.

She refused to let him leave without confronting the obvious awkward sexual tension in their friendship. With that thought, she got up from her seat and walked over to him landing a quick chirpy kiss on his cheek, then immediately left the room towards the elevator without looking back.

Cyborg and Garfield erupted in laughter after witnessing Robin's panicked facial expression right after as he was left in confusion over what just occurred. Robin still didn't move a muscle debating whether to address her public display of affection or move on with his daily meeting. Raven smirked and proceeded to leave the room.

Cyborg then got up from his seat slightly reaching over to Robin and patting his back. "Now that face will never get old no matter how many times she catches you off guard," he continued while laughing. Garfield mirrored his gesture while leaving the main area and shouting, "You both just need to do it already," as Cyborg and Garfield exploded into a larger laughter.

Robin finally managed to run his hand through his hair and chuckled out loud. "Damn her."

* * *

It was Friday night at the Titan Tower. Just earlier that week a massive warm front has swept the west coast bringing normally cool temperatures to all time high's. With Robin gone, four teammates lounged around the living room area as the heat started to show itself.

"Why did our AC have to break right now? Out of all the years we have spent in this tower, the damn AC unit decided to die on us now," the large semi-cybernetic man complained aloud.

Raven looked at Cyborg while she levitated off the floor reading her book. She typically didn't care for climate as she had traveled to truly searing dimensions but she did seem to be sweating a bit.

The levitating woman removed her cloak in an effort to get more airflow to her body. Her eyes then darted back to her book.

Garfield then decided to yell out, "Alright, I am headed to the park. The AC tech guys aren't coming until tomorrow morning. Let's hope Robin comes in from Gotham AFTER they fix it. You all have fun melting in this heat trap we call a tower."

Cyborg looked down at his watch, "You sure? It's already six. The sun should be gone pretty soon. The temperature will get a bit better, " he stated as a small sweat droplet accumulated on his right temple.

Raven placed both legs on the floor closing her book. "It's the high humidity that is causing our discomfort. It might storm soon. Either way, if Cyborg and Starfire are down, we could go grab some pizza and grab a tea somewhere."

Garfield's face lit up. "Yeah, of course they are down, right guys," looking straight into Cyborg's eyes and hinting at him to say yes for dear life.

Cyborg snickered and agreed. He then turned to face the orange lady stretched out across the sofa. "You down, Star?"

No response.

Raven walked over to her to see if she had fallen asleep. "I guess she is sleeping, we could always just go tomorr…," she started before getting cut off by Garfield.

"No, let her sleep. The clouds have been covering the sky these past days. No sun equals weak Starfire. She will be fine, let's bring her back some food to get her energized again," he butted in trying dearly to make sure Raven didn't back down from her offer.

"Alright, let's go," she replied while walking over to the elevator with the other two Titans.

The doors closed with small light signaling the elevator going down.

* * *

 **LATER**

The Tamaranian slowly came to consciousness as she stretched her tired body out on the sofa. She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to force herself up. Her entire body ached when she realized she desperately needed the sun _NOW_.

Starfire moved her sight to fixate on the large clock on the right wall. 9:28 PM.

"It's so late and no one woke me to move me out of the way? How strange," she thought out loud. She figured Garfield if anyone would have kicked her off the sofa to watch TV. She slowly moved to a sitting position on the sofa only to realize she had left a dampened pool of sweat where her side of her body only moments early slept.

A quick giggle escaped her mouth. _Why aren't any of these windows in this living room able to open,_ she angrily thought while cursing the architects who built the tower. She put all of her energy into the long trip to her room.

The door swished open as more heat seemed to dissipate from her very room. _Must open windows,_ she continued thinking while running to and opening the large windows. Instantaneously, a cool breeze pushed passed her body cooling her skin a bit.

"Amazing," she lightly moaned out.

She lazily walked back to her bed and started taking off her top and skirt, which still had sweat on the side from the nap on the sofa. The clothes sluggishly fell to the floor as she slumped onto her bed and passed out.

A small crackling noise slowly brought her out of her deep sleep. Vaguely remembering she left her windows open, she figured a bird got in. Animals did seem to find a way to make it into her room whenever she had them open.

The red headed woman was too energy depleted to acknowledge it and turned to the other side of her bed placing one hand over her eyes.

The crackling noise was heard once more but louder and continuous, but it slightly did wake her up this time. "I have no food for you today little birdie. I promise you I will make your day tomorrow," she lazily said in a sleepy tone.

The crackling noise stopped. "But you can make my day right now," a low voice spoke from the corner near the window.

She immediately opened her eyes and turned to face the voice. There before her stood the familiar skulled masked man. Her tired eyes bulged open with the surprise of his presence in her room.

"Red X? Why are you here," she said trying to sound menacing but her lethargic state proved otherwise.

The thief stood still next to the windows with his arms crossed against his chest looking around her room. "I came to drop off a letter but when I saw the windows open I just couldn't resist," he replied in a husky tone.

Alarmed, she then grabbed the covers to her right to cover her body.

He glanced back at her realizing she covered herself. "Relax, I didn't move closer than where I am now. I don't eat," he said taking off his mask and staring at her through the thin sheets, "unless I am invited," he finished smirking an amusing grin.

She heard his words but could barely see him in the dark. She knew the moon was out today but the clouds were still surely blocking it. She could tell he removed his mask at least. Her heartbeat picked up understanding where he was going with this.

"I apologize for kissing you on the roof the other night. I thought you were my leader Robin up there. We sort of have something going on," she explained in a forced calmed manner.

He took a step towards her bed. "Sort of as in not official right?" he questioned back.

Starfire barely had the energy to respond; yet she didn't feel herself in any danger. "Well, not really I suppose," she responded quite tangled with the question itself.

Red X took another step forward. "So you are free to do whatever pleases you since nothing has happened so far in the past what, two or three years?" he replied once more taking yet another step forward.

She instinctively responded, "more like four."

The unmasked man gave out a small throaty chuckle.

Somehow she gathered that he was not a fan of Robin for whatever reason and also that his voice seemed to be getting closer. "Red X, my body is extremely sore. I haven't had sun rays in a couple days due to the weather and the sun is like what you may call 'fuel' for my body," she continued. "Drop off whatever letter and make your way out," she stated laying back down and returning her body to the opposing side of the window.

The elite thief stood still for a few seconds of silence. This remarkably intriguing girl was turning him down and peaking his interest by the second. "Tamaran is a planet very very far away from here Starfire. Don't you ever get lonely, " he commented in a sincere tone.

She felt her breathing stop for a moment. _How does he know about my planet?_

The silence was enough of an indication to him that he might just get away with this.

"The things that interest me take top priority in my life. Whether it be an impossible theft or breaking into an unknown tower to steal a suit that was talked about on the black market," he continued finally reaching her bed and taking a seat on the edge.

She slowly turned around giving him her undivided attention.

"A princess is a very prestigious title. I don't think I have ever experienced a princess before," he said taking off one glove and placing his hand on the side of her shoulder facing him. "Your body seems to be in pain. I think I can help assist you Princess Starfire," he ended leaving his sincere tone for his more charismatic pitch.

Starfire hadn't been called a princess in years. She almost forgot she had royal blood coursing through her veins. Just hearing the title escape out his deep voice was enough to almost drive her wild.

A soft pleasing sigh was heard coming from her mouth. He grinned once more knowing he almost had her. His hand, which was placed on her shoulder slowly, traced its way down her side to her hips. One last phrase was heard from him. "I have been thinking about you every night since we met, and in everyway you can think of."

The last word was barely uttered before she frantically crawled to the side of the bed and straddled him. She grabbed the back of his head slipping her tongue into his mouth. She could barely get a breath out before she ripped the front chest part of his suit in half with sheer Tamaranian strength.

He quickly let that moment distract her as he picked her up, now legs wrapped around him, and hastily pushed her up against the nearest wall, battling for dominance back.

"Do you know how much that is going to cost to replace?" he playfully growled into her ear.

The tanned-warrior simply replied by nibbling into his neck and slowly rocking her hips against his groin area still covered by the bottom portion of his pants. He forcefully grabbed the back of her long red hair into a ball and pulled her hair back, forcing her jaw up against his mouth.

With her spine against her own wall and his hard body pushing up against her, the two continued to passionately make out when her communicator began ringing loudly.

The two instantly stopped as if the communicator had broken the wild and passionate spell that was placed on them. She looked back into his eyes in the dark room and gently pushed him away as her feet rediscovered the carpet.

She quickly stepped to the communicator on the nightstand and answered it. There on the video feed was Garfield, "Starfire, sorry we are so late! We ended up making some pit stops at the mall. We are barely getting pizza. Are you hungry?"

Starfire stared blankly at the video feed making sure her face was only visible. No words could escape her hectic mind.

Garfield continued, "Oh did I wake you up? My bad, no wonder it's so dark in there. Anyways, forget I called. Catch you in a bit!" hanging up the feed.

She stayed staring at the communicator in her hand trying to process the past five minutes.

Red X crouched down picking up his mask from the floor. He took a couple more steps towards her still body and kissed her gently on the top of her hair. He looked down at his tattered suit and scratched his head attempting to process what had just occurred too.

"This wasn't my intention for the night. I mean I'm not complaining but I really didn't come here expecting," he stopped scratching his head again, "well whatever this was."

Starfire finally regained control of motion. She stood up opening and closing her grip in the right hand. "I don't feel the aches as bad as I did before. For the most part of my body for that fact," she ended opening and closing her other grip.

Red X smiled while readjusting his mask. He placed the letter on the nightstand and turned to leave. Her soft voice broke his exit, "Can I see your face in actual light?"

He turned around and walked back to her. He took off his mask once more and grabbed her left arm soothingly. He opened her closed fist and out illuminated a green emerald colored orb of light.

She gazed at the light bouncing off his face. His striking features seeming more appealing by the moment. His brows furrowed at the intense stare he gave her while she studied his features. "What about a real name ?" she continued.

His voice broke into a low chuckle readjusting his mask once more and turning around. "You know, cutie, the only crime here is that you and I haven't gone out on a date," he replied finally standing next to her window. "I guess you will have to wait til' that happens, huh." He raised two fingers pressed tightly together into the air without looking back.

She was about to respond when he pressed the button on his belt and vanished.

Starfire immediately fell onto her bed trying to recap everything. _Who am I?! What just happened!_ She grabbed her pillow and through it over her face. The breeze from the open windows continued to blow chilled air into her room. She closed her eyes feeling bliss in the strangest sense and realized Robin would be coming back tomorrow.

"Tomorrow will be interesting for sure," she whispered into the dark room. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm still HUGE ROBSTAR FAN. IT'S COMING! -_-


	4. Chapter 4

**Robin:**

 _ **Forbidden passion. It's the substance that generates euphoric sensations of gratification all while obscuring into the depths of integrity. It dwells within and affects us all differently. Contently, the only form I have ever come to understand is a passion against crime.**_

 _ **Nevertheless, that precise passion that has been prohibited from my life has managed to seep into my subconscious. The stinging pain of failure to have full control over my body plagues me on the daily now. I took the oath to dedicate my life for the betterment of mankind, yet I still can't stop the dreams from emitting at night. Still, my decency prevails and all is tranquil.**_

 _ **But…. Those dreams are what I have also come to treasure. It's the only time where I can drop the mask and let my mind and body be. If only I could allow it to take its course, then maybe I could be both.**_ _She_ _ **would let me be both, the vigilant guardian and the simple man with a heart.**_

 _ **If only…**_

* * *

The curious boy wonder peered over two large boulders in an attempt to find his objective. He had just landed in Jump City roughly 20 minutes ago, however he was already looking for his favorite individual, _her_.

The moment he stepped off the plane he had phoned the tower in hopes of having everyone home, but everyone was there except for _her_. Realizing what day it was, he immediately felt like he knew exactly where to find her and took off in a jiffy.

And here he was looking in between these small boulders right at _her._ Even at a distance the reddish hue filling her lengthy hair, which was covering most of her body, still allowed him to see her sitting there like she always did.

It's a habit of _hers_ that he picked up on a few years ago. Every so often, after a few weeks would go by she would randomly disappear from the tower for a night and come home late past midnight. He wondered for quite some time where she would go off to so late and ended up following her one night.

To his surprise, she arrived at the most deserted beach side about an hour high-speed drive from the tower. He stayed long enough to find out she would enter the water, most of the time fully clothed, and exit immediately. She would then heat up the sand around her by lighting it with her green energy bolts. The shade of green would die off after a few seconds but the sand would remain warm from his many observations.

Lastly, she would pick it up and scrub it all over her body. She did this while her eyes were closed. This ceremonial trance lasted for about an hour and then she would just lie there for another half hour. She repeated this strange cycle about 5 times over and over each and every time she ventured out here; also the only reason why he knew to come here.

Just as he had hoped, she began the ritual of walking into the water. As many times as he has watched her slip into the sea, it always felt like a privilege to be there. To see the moonlight bounce off her skin never seemed to get old, especially tonight.

The orange Tamaranian wasn't even fully in when he heard a loud swish followed by his feet becoming restrained to the floor by a well-known red material.

 _ **No.**_

"So the Teen Titan decided to come back to town," the husky voiced echoed from behind him. Robin still in utter shock was having difficulty turning around to face his assailant with his feet stuck to the ground.

Robin attempted with all his might to try to break out of the goo, but he knew Red X had him right where he wanted him. His intense grunts of frustration were simply adding to the satisfaction of the villain.

The rebellious taunting man standing several yards behind the Titan slowly made his way towards him. A light whistling melody escaped his lips to bluntly make it clear who was in charge. Robin reached for a birdarang waiting to make a powerful blow once he came into sight.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Come on bird boy, you seriously think I'm going to let you spoil the fun," Red X continued while stopping a few feet behind him. "Drop it or I'll alert that lovely swan down there how you have been spying on her most intimate moments," he finished sneering.

Robin's body lost all fight at the thought of pissing off Starfire. _Wait, he knows I've been coming here? How far back has he been following me?_

The boy wonder stopped thinking with his heart and shifted to detective mode. "Do it, she will help me apprehend you either way. Plus, telling her than would put you in the same boat as me and something tells me you don't want her getting upset with you either," his voice full of authority and logic filled the still air.

Silence followed for a few moments. The light colliding waves filled the air.

Robin subsequently knew his hunch was right. _What does he want with Starfire? Why does he care what she thinks? Does that mean he was seriously flirting with her when we last saw him on the streets and he kissed her hand?_ The thoughts racing through his mind created more frustration than he would have anticipated.

Red X finally let a small chuckle escape his mouth. "I like her because I can't stand you. Plus, I'm already a thief and that hasn't stopped her stimulating curious eyes on me now has it. By the way, that goo hardens the more you move. New improvements," he once again stated egotistically.

Robin's body ached at that last comment, but he knew it was always rationality over emotion. "Stop playing games X; what do you want? I know you didn't come out here to merely throw slime at my feet," he replied attentively.

Without Robin's knowledge, the fully black caped thief took a couple steps to the left to rest his weight on a medium sized boulder looking out to the ocean. "You see, I'm a very simple guy. I see something I like and I take it. I heard about your suit so I took it. For some strange reason though, I can't stand seeing you hop around the city in that fucking ridiculous outfit. Now I don't know nor do I care who you are, but I have done some research and everything you stand for fucking pisses me off," he continued while shifting to the crouching position on both legs.

"A month ago, I would have beat you to a bloody pulp simply because I felt like it. But now, I've met her," he charismatically stated while viewing the foreigner from above start removing her boots and colorfully heat up the sand around her.

A smirk appeared from beneath his skulled mask. "And I've come to realize that you like this girl, so I'm going to steal her."

Robin lost control of all coherent thoughts as he quickly threw a sharp birdarang his way. He slung it blindly behind him, hoping with all his power that it would hit him. Unfortunately, Red X knew that would push his buttons and easily dodged the flying weapon still bent down.

Red X then erupted into an arrogant laughter. "You see bird boy, this is exactly what I am trying to prove! After months of hearing how unstoppable you are, I found your kryptonite," he stated proudly. "And the best part is I get to relish your kryptonite because you're too righteous."

Robin lowered his head in acknowledgment. "So you came here to gloat?"

The skulled mask figure stood back up and crossed his arms while continuing to watch Starfire bathe in sand. His voice lowered pitch and commanded gravity to the situation. "I came here to tell you Slade is back. He goes by Deathstroke now, and incase you didn't know you are his number one target." Red X''s electronic device pinned to his utility belt began to buzz.

The overgrown spiky-haired hero clenched both fists tight in irritation.

Red X continued, "And he is looking for your weakness. I'll leave you with that," he said as he started walking away into the shadows.

Robin yelled out to the retreating man, "Wait! Why are you telling me this! Why are _you_ warning me," he yelled in anger.

Red X let another snicker out as he continued to walk away, "Because I want her fully intact. She didn't pay attention to my warning, maybe you can keep her alive long enough for me to get us both out of the city and let him do whatever the hell he wants with the rest of it."

The words trailed off as he walked into the darkness behind.

Robin grabbed another birdarang and viciously began to bang it against the hardened goo beneath him.

* * *

 **ELSEWHERE**

The vigilant demi-demon levitated slightly into the air as she chanted a few words.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" An ominous portal appeared while she stepped into and right back out with a burglar in hand.

Cyborg crossed both of his large arms over his chest in approval. "Wonderful. At this rate we won't even need Starfire or Robin to be here for missions," he commented with a light laugh.

A green bull walked up to the bulky half-robot and joined in the conversation. "Not again! You always take all the action Raven!" The green changeling shifted back into human form.

Raven landed lightly back on the floor as the police sirens quickly approached nearby. "He's been tied to the pole. Let's go," she remarked while walking back to the T-car.

Garfield ran to catch up to her. "Hey, how about we all go catch a movie?"

The pale female replied with silence. Cyborg caught up quickly and chimed in. "Sorry to break it to you guys but I actually have plans tonight. I have a plane to catch in a few hours. Captain Atom recently reached out to me and he wants to have a meeting," he elatedly said.

Raven slowed her pace, "Wait, Captain Atom? As in Justice League's Captain Atom," she questioned with a raised brow.

The green changeling turned to face Cyborg waiting for a response. _Cyborg's leaving us_ , he pondered to himself.

Cyborg laughed out loud at the compliment, "Yes, that Captain Atom. But it's not like that. He just reached out to me to…Well I am not really sure why but I'm always down for free food so I couldn't say no," he responded.

Garfield patted Cyborg on his back with full respect. "Way to go Cy! We should celebrate!"

Raven groggily added, "This sounds like great news Cyborg, but let's get home. I'm not feeling too well," she said before collapsing onto the floor motionless.

"Raven!" both team members yelled simultaneously. They ran to pick her up when a blast detonated from the T-car. The mass force of the bomb slightly pushed the three back a bit. Garfield made sure he maneuvered his body in front of Raven's to block her from the blast.

Cyborg instantly rolled to his left and aimed his cannon at the car looking for any signs of additional danger. He cautiously scanned the area furthermore leading him to find a thinly built robot crouching next to the remaining T-car. The golden plated android bolted in the opposite direction once it realized it had been spotted.

Cyborg calculated exactly where he would be running and blasted away obliterating the robot into tiny scraps.

"What the hell is going on," the half robot muttered.

* * *

 **Then**

Robin collapsed onto the living room sofa in disbelief of his night. His shoes had been torn apart by his thrashing while trying to escape the confinements of the hardened goo. After escaping, he wanted nothing more but to go and embrace his teammate.

But he simply couldn't. Red X's words resonated deep within him. _How is Slade, no Deathstroke back in town?_ Nothing was making sense to the caped man and not being able to concentrate was eating him alive.

He looked at his communicator, which displayed the time of 9:10 PM. _Maybe I should take a nap?_ He lied onto the sofa letting his eyes rest for a few seconds.

That last thought ended when elevator doors swooshed open and Starfire appeared. With his eyes still closed, the tanned woman slowly made her way to the side of the sofa.

"Robin!"

His eyes popped open underneath his mask. She nearly frightened him to death with her sudden announcement. "Star! You almost scared the life out of me," he lightly commented slowly pulling himself up from his position. He didn't get a moment to do it alone when Starfire grabbed him and lifted him up into a hug.

"Robin! You are home!" Her cheerful nature was what was missed the most during his stay in Gotham. Every time he visited that black hole of a city he promised to remind himself how unique her optimism really was.

The leader closed his eyes enjoying every second of her extremely snug squeeze. Her particular delightful scent filled his nostrils and a large grin appeared on his face.

"Star, I've missed you so much. There's a lot we have to talk about though," he broke the chirpy atmosphere. She sluggishly let go of him and took a small step back.

"Robin, who are you," she randomly questioned breaking his concentration on his next though.

He raised one hand to scratch his head in perplexity. "What do you mean? You know who I am." He took a seat on the sofa hunching over placing both elbows on his knees.

She stretched out her arms up in the air letting out a small groan followed by a light sigh. "What's your real name? I feel like I have known you my entire life, yet I only know you as Robin," she continued as she lied down on the sofa, forcing Robin's elbows to move when she placed her head on his lap.

Robin looked directly into her green eyes, as she stared right into his white mask. The moment felt surreal. He must have dozed off. This must be one of his favorite dreams, the lucid ones. He had these once every three months or so.

He somehow was able to realize when he was dreaming sometimes and was able to control certain aspects of the dream.

Starfire blinked a few times trying to understand the strange facial expression on his face. "Robin? I know you know that I'm Koriand'r. But I prefer you to always call me Starfire. Is there anything else you prefer me to call you? Also, what color are your eyes," the questioning continued.

He chuckled at that last demand. "Starfire I love you so much," he whispered as he began running his left hand through her hair strands. "You wouldn't believe how much I craved your touch this whole trip."

Her eyelids expanded at those two last comments, "Robin?"

The boy wonder was about to respond when his communicator went off. He picked it up carelessly when he realized one ultimate detail. He could read the words INCOMING CALL on the screen.

Robin virtually felt the vomit coming up his throat. _Did I just read that!_ He pushed it back down with all his might. He mumbled to himself, "The ability to read is not a function that can be performed during a dream sequence. Incoming call…I did just read that…."

He blinked a few times wrapping his head around the fact that he just confessed his feelings for Starfire directly to her.

The Tamaranian shifted to a sitting position. She regrettably heard his realization. Nonetheless, she proceeded with, "Robin are you going to get that?" The leader ran a quick hand through his hair and answered the communicator.

The small screen displayed Cyborg dangling from Garfield's pterodactyl claws up in the clouds. The half robot spoke into his communicator, " Yo, glad to see you back. A Robot attacked us on a small mission. The design looked familiar to..,.. Well let's just say it looked familiar. We are headed back to the tower." He shifted the communicator to show Raven flying back with the group.

Silence.

Cyborg cut back into the feed, "I guess she doesn't want to talk right now. We will be at the tower in 5 minutes. Cyborg, out." The video feed ended.

The two sitting Titans continued staring into the black screen with the time displayed as 10:32 PM. He had indeed dozed off but woke up to reality.

Starfire broke the silence, "Robin, what you said was," but Robin immediately cut her off. "Star, the team was just attacked by what might possibly be Slade's robots. "We might be facing a threat of another level now," he finished.

"I know, Red X warned me last night," she openly confessed. Robin pulled in a deep breath purely hearing that name coming from her mouth. "And since when did you both become nocturnal buddies," he irritatingly questioned.

She crossed her arms, "Why are you getting so defensive with him? He is trying to help us. And besides, we can talk about _that_ later. Did you mean what you said earlier?" she replied in a soft hopeful tone as she uncrossed one arm and placed it on his lap.

Robin replied," _That_ doesn't matter right now. And don't trust that mischievous thief! He's only trying to arouse you to get to me," he defended.

The now frustrated woman forcefully stood up and walked towards the elevator doors. "My emotions control my powers. If I cannot understand what my heart is feeling right now, then I am of no use to the team. Please apologize for the team for me," she finished and walked into the closing doors of the elevator.

Robin took off his mask in pure frustration. _What the hell just happened?_ A few minutes of brooding alone on the sofa passed when the remaining team members walked through the elevator doors.

"Rob!" a tired Garfield yelled out to the leader. Raven entered somberly walking straight towards the bedroom quarters. Cyborg was about to call her name when Garfield placed a hand on his shoulder silently opposing the action.

Cyborg shook his head in agreement and sat down with the two on the sofa. "I know this might come out as bullshit, but I promise you I eradicated one of Slade's robots out on the streets tonight," he began to explain. "It wasn't exactly like his old designs, but something about it screamed his name out to me."

Robin stood up and walked to the glass windows. "He goes by Deathstroke now. He is out to get us. We need to be especially careful of Starfire," he stated.

Garfield chimed in, "Guys, I am worried about Raven. She fainted before the explosion occurred; something is wrong with her," he hastily commented.

Cyborg pulled out his robotic arm to look at the time. He took a deep breath realizing he wasn't going to catch his plane in time at this point. "I'll talk to her in the morning." he volunteered.

Garfield perplexed replied, "Wait aren't you suppose to be catching a pla," when Cyborg cut him off. "This team comes first, I'll reschedule."

Robin still lost in thought continued staring out the crystal clear windows. "I need change team. I need change to happen now," he ended his statement by heading to his room for an earlier transformation than anticipated.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

Red X looked at the time displayed on his motorcycle while making his way back to the beach he left a couple hours earlier. The time read 1:59 AM. He was sure Starfire was still there as she generally stayed until 3ish or so. In reality, he had only come to find out about this hiding spot a few days back. Who would have guessed his hunches about Robin already knowing about it too would have been right.

If it hadn't been for a drop off he was compromised to deliver on earlier that day, he would have let Robin out of his trap to challenge him head on. A good brawl while extracting blood always seemed to work when he needed to blow some steam.

Something about that guy seriously ticked him off. It's almost as if he knew him in a sense and that angered him more. A lot had happened over the past few months that made him who he was today. Waking up with what seems like amnesia back then was not something he expected would happen to him, but he knew he would get memories back in time. For now, he was your average thief stealing things to get by in life.

Still, he'd prefer to do that with someone than alone. From what he researched, that Tamaranian girl came to this planet and immediately joined that team. She probably doesn't even know the thrill of committing a small crime but he knew he could open some doors of temptation.

She seemed more sexually frustrated than anything, and that was something he would make sure he could help her with. Life seemed to be getting better by the moment. As long as Deathstroke didn't find him or try to contract him to do something, he should be in the clear. From what he heard underground, he is looking to hire people. He also heard you _never_ say no to Deathstroke.

Either way, he was heading back and should be pulling up to the isolated beach in a few. He pulled up several hundred yards from those rocks and parked his bike in an attempt to not alert the princess.

To his amusement, she sat calmly with both knees to her head looking out into the sea. Granted she had moved a great distance from where she was at earlier, but at least she was still there. He took off his mask and felt the breeze hit his face.

* * *

 **Moments Earlier**

Starfire landed on the soft beach after her angered flight there. She pulled her hair into one fist and shouted out loud in frustration. "Aghhhhhh!"

Only the sounds of some seagulls were all that replied back. The sound of the waves became more apparent as she sat on the floor to replay the events of the night. She left here hoping Robin would be back early, which he was.

The moment she saw him on that sofa she couldn't hold her excitement in. She was adamant on telling him everything that was happening. Last night with Red X was a mistake and she felt awful for getting wrapped up in the sexual tension between them.

It didn't make it right though and she knew there was no justifying her actions. _If only that had been Robin._ Oh how wonderful that night would have been. X'hal did not grant her those high wishes and instead sent her a thief. And she managed to screw things up even more.

She pulled her knees up to her face gripping onto a small mound of sand. The texture felt cool yet soft. It reminded her of Robin when she first met him. He was the most amazing thing she had ever laid eyes on. Since the moment he helped her escape her imprisonment, she knew her heart belonged to him.

He was much shorter back then too. She giggled at the thought of how she used to tower over him back in the day. Nowadays, they sit at about the same height. His body is mostly muscle mass as well and she isn't sure how he doesn't rip right through that spandex suit of his. Another giggle erupted with that last thought.

And now, here she was trying to figure out exactly what was going on through his head. He somewhat confessed that he loved her, right? _But then why did he do the freaking out when he discovered he wasn't dreaming?_

The wind blew a gust that wafted a portion of her hair in front of her face. A small sigh escaped her. Before she could blow it away with her own breath, a familiar voice was heard behind her.

"Good. You are still here."

A bit startled, she turned around in curiosity. There before her stood a man in black spandex, but a blue bird-like symbol across his chest. He wore a familiar but different mask with his hair let down naturally.

"Robin?"

The man took a few steps forward and crouched down to her eye level. He removed his mask revealing his deep blue eyes and replied, "My name is Dick. Richard Dick Grayson to be exact."

They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. The need and want from years before didn't matter any this moment. It was just her and him, together.

Her gaped open mouth transitioned into a wide smile hearing those words. _This is it. This is his answer to my questions,_ she thought to herself.

She rolled over to her knees and grabbed him from the back of his hair in absolute necessity. With that, she threw her knees onto his waist forcing him to fall back onto the sand. She straddled him and kissed him fervently.

"I love you too Mr. Grayson," she succeeded in barely sighing out.

While still pinned to the beach ground, Dick grinned in response while digging his hand into the sand to grab a ball of sand. "Care to teach me how you do this sand ritual," he charmingly questioned as he amusingly rubbed the ball of sand into her arm.

A deep pink blush streaked Starfire's face. "You little…"

* * *

 **Dick:**

 **Passion is a prerequisite to love. Out of all my years of extensive training with Batman, I was programmed to follow my passion of valor and channel it to defend those who can't protect themselves. Though this life is not wrong, I now know I can no longer live this tunnel vision type of philosophy.**

 _ **She**_ **wants more, and more surprisingly I** _ **need**_ **more. We live a life full of choices and this is the option I will die for.**

 **Danger lies ahead; I can almost feel it in my bones. I only pray that I trained enough to lead my team through whatever is in store.**

* * *

The white skulled bandit looked from afar without moving a muscle. He then turned away to walk away.

"Well played bird man. I'll accept your challenge," he muttered apathetically.

* * *

Author's Note: R&R. Also, sick af. This semester is ending soon so hopefully I'll have some time inbetween to write.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER V

* * *

The ominous dark clouds poured rain heavily across the paved city floor. It was pitch black and for a mere second, a bright flash of lightening cracked a slit in the sky. With that, a pale girl with eyes closed could be seen standing in the middle of an empty street letting the heavy rainwater cascade over her icy skin.

The flash of light vanished almost as quickly as it appeared and the darkness enveloped the atmosphere once more. Yet, the girl continued to stand there without moving a facial muscle. The loud roar of thunder consumed all sound and a small tear started to roll down her left eye, which was then rapidly washed away by the force of the incoming water still falling upon her.

Then, a faint yellow light emerged from the darkness.

She couldn't see the light as her eyes were still shut, but she could feel it. Somewhere deep down where her mind never allows her to go. That abysmal place that was never acknowledged felt the warmth of the golden illumination slowly igniting a fire deep within.

The need to explore more of this soothing and pleasuring light overtook her senses. Her eyes slowly began to open as water continued pouring down. She squinted, but there it was. The warm yellow light continued drifting closer and closer to her.

A familiar voice was then heard softly through the sound of the crashing sound of the dense rain droplets.

"I need you Raven," the wholehearted voice called to her drawing her hand to reach out to touch it.

She used her free hand to hastily block the raindrops falling down to make a clearer picture of what was in front of her. _Garfield…_

The half demon felt her throat choke up as she heard the only words she wished to never receive.

"I'll always find you Terra," Garfield's merciless voice filled the air.

The light rapidly vanished only leaving behind a dark and rainy scene.

Raven's pale knees hit the floor as the ground started to crumble away. "Garfield…," she lightly whispered as she began sobbing into her hands.

 **Minutes earlier.**

"Koriand'r!" a chuckling black haired leader currently with his spandex suit half way off grunted as he broke into laughter.

The Tamaranian woman snickered softly as she was presently straddling him as he lay on his back awaiting a quick massage. The energy orb she held above his lower back was deliberately growing larger and warmer.

"Does it not feel sensational, Dick?" she mischievously teased.

His back muscles tensed. "Koriand'r, what in the world are you doing. I don't think I have ever felt…. It's tingling and it's travelling..." he tried finishing as she umped up the energy waves. "Kori!"

"Ooh, is that not what your people call a nickname?" She let out a small chuckle knowing exactly what she was doing. "I like it. Dick, this is how my people help each other alleviate stress after a long day of battle," she finished.

Dick moved his right hand to grab the nearest pillow to dig his face into. "The warmth is travelling lower," his muffled voice trailed off to a yearning whisper.

Starfire's grin grew from cheek to cheek. "My dearest Dick, there are a lot of things that I have been dying to do to you since I met you," she stated in a rather carnal tone. The large muscular man beneath her released a low longing growl into the pillow inviting her to continue.

With that body response, she hastily closed her fist and halted the warmth of the energy orb.

A head of jet-black hair impatiently pulled up from the pillow in confusion. "Koriand'r?" He placed his elbows on the bed allowing him to turn and face the orange alien.

She quickly stood up and put her finger to his mouth trying to detect something. "Do you hear that, Dick?"

He gazed at her in confusion. At that very moment he honed in on his hearing and there it was, soft screaming increasingly getting louder and louder. _How did I miss that?!_

"That's Raven!" Koriand'r shouted running to the door as fast as she could. They both sped off in the direction of their distressed team member.

* * *

 **Now**

They made it to their destination under fifteen seconds all to find the door completely locked. Nightwing forcefully kicked the door down as Starfire ran through to find their floating comrade wallowing in pain in her sleep, still suspended above her bed.

"Raven! Wake up!" Nightwing yelled trying to frantically shake her out of her sleep. The only response came from the windows on her wall beginning to form cracks.

A sudden burst of dark energy appeared from her chest and began forming a vortex. Air started to get pulled in a twister formation.

"Kori! End it NOW!" Nightwing shouted in disbelief. Starfire charged up a starbolt and shot it directly at her left temple.

A large blast erupted breaking all the windows in the room followed by her body dropping back onto her mattress. The Tamaranian quickly appeared next to the motionless body. "Raven! I am so sorry! Please wake up!" Starfire whimpered.

The half demon opened her eyes in perplexity. "What…what's going on? Why are you both here?!"

The worried couple quickly looked into each other's eyes looking for the right way to explain what just occurred.

Starfire slowly responded, "Raven, we heard you screaming from Nightwing's room. Your voice sounded like you were being attacked."

Nightwing hastily chimed in, "You were having a nightmare of some sort. Is this the first time this has occurred? What's going on?"

Raven curled up her legs on the mattress as the images of her dream started coming back to her. "It's…. my mind... I haven't been sleeping lately and this is why," she gloomily replied.

The team leader opened his mouth to demand answers when he felt his girlfriend place her hand on his back in an attempt to hold off his response. Starfire took a step forward, "Raven, you should have told us. I am so sorry that you have been dealing with this by yourself."

The pale young woman raised her hands in disbelief as she scanned her surroundings. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to cause this destruction. I haven't slept in over six days," she replied drowsily.

Nightwing took a quick scan of the damage done in the room and nodded, "No need to apologize, but you do need to get an adequate amount of sleep Raven. Is there anything we can do to help?"

Starfire squeezed her hand knowing Raven wouldn't budge. She turned to face Nightwing. "I want to stay here with her for the night, if that is okay with you Raven," she commented as she turned to make eye contact with her friend.

Raven sighed knowing this was more of a demand that a request. She also knew that maybe having a friendly and positive presence could possibly help balance all the negative she recently subconsciously experienced.

The lavender haired girl smiled as she lightly let her weight fall back onto the mattress. "That's fine, but no accidental spooning. I've seen what risqué positions you two end up in when you both pass out on the living room sofa," she replied with an exhausted smile attempting to deflect the conversation from her.

Nightwing lightly let out a nervous chuckle scratching the back of his hair. "Sounds good, I need to go change anyways," he stated lowering down to give Starfire a quick peck on the lips.

In a sense, he was elated to have Starfire out of his bedroom. He had not gotten good quality sleep these past weeks since he suggested she sleep in his room. The first night he passed out in her room while talking late night. From that night on, he needed to feel her body next to his. They had yet to take anything further, as he recognized taking things slow was the only way to make his leadership and new romance concurrently work. He understood he had ultimate control over his mind, but he had come to learn that his body acted upon completely different impulses, especially at night.

Whether he woke up in the middle of the night from a sexual dream with her or he modestly woke up with his dick actually boning her fully clothed and sleeping body, he simply had lost track of what good quality REM cycles could accomplish.

The thought quickly left as he turned to face the door and exited the room. It was then when their communicator alarms started sounding. He quickly glanced at the incoming alert and read the information on the screen. _Fuck,_ he inwardly groaned knowing there was _never_ time for healthy sleep for anyone on his team.

Nightwing quickly grabbed the spandex, which was still half way hanging off his waist from the earlier massage, and swiftly suited up. "Sorry ladies, Cyborg and Garfield have encountered an intruder in the north portion of the energy corridor near the docks.

Starfire stood up, "Raven, you need to stay here. You are not of any help in your current condition. The tired woman replied by closing her eyes without a rebuttal. Starfire smiled, "I will be back as soon as I can." She made quick eye contact with Nightwing and quickly exited the tower.

* * *

Alarms filled the air with earsplitting sounds paired with bright flashes of red and yellow. It was nearly 3AM when the patrolling members of the team detected a break in the energy sector adjoining Jump City.

The green changeling morphed from bat form into hummingbird when he realized the alarms were too intense for his prior forms sensitive ears. He flew up several stories high in order to maintain a true bird's eye on the situation.

"Beast Boy!" yelled Cyborg from beneath. "Someone is jamming the signal which usually tells us the exact signal of the break in! Check the left two buildings! I'll meet you while I check out the next two to the right!"

Cyborg ran into the first building expecting an easy entrance but was confused when his typical routine was held up. _My tech should override these doors; why aren't they opening?_ His thoughts shifted to running to the adjacent building and attempting to override his entry there. He ran closer and immediately noticed the same problem.

The half robot stood in perplexity. He irritably began manually hacking the system.

A deep revving engine came to a halt in front of the various buildings overshadowed by the noise the alarm system was still creating. Nightwing stepped off skimming the sky for his significant other.

 _She should have technically been here before me, odd._

He opened his communicator attempting to make a connection with the team's patrolling members of the night, Garfield and Cyborg.

The link was established. "Cyborg, report with your findings."

The deep but friendly voice replied," Beastie is currently searching the two left buildings northwest of this entire sectors perimeter. I am presently frustrated and stuck in what seems to be a security breach zone somewhere within the following right buildings."

Nightwing nodded his head. "Well find a way out soon. I lost Star on the way over here, but I am certain she is flying somewhere around here."

Cyborg released a small grunt in irritation. "I'm about to blast a hole through this damn door. I have to manually override every access point. It's almost as if someone anticipated my tech being here to open the place up for you guys. Your call wasn't even reaching me. I had to manually pick it up off the network."

The leader took his words into careful consideration. "The authorities have not been alerted of this break in. I checked their systems and it seems whoever is here has bypassed the system to go silent. I'll try the building directly north of yours. Nightwing, out." He found the fastest route to his given building and made his way.

Minutes later, Starfire finally made it to the coordinates given to her by Nightwing some 30 minutes ago. She was running late, but in her defense she had witnessed a small burglary on the way there. She simply took some extra time to apprehend the robbers and take care of the situation.

But, she was here now and it was now time to get up to date with what was occurring at the moment. She opened up her communicator and tried calling Nightwing.

 _What? Signal not available? I was not aware that this communicator was incapable of locating signal regardless of any location…_

She ended her thoughts putting the communicator away. She scanned the area unable to see much. She quickly took back to the sky attempting to get a better view without the blinding flashing lights.

Once in the air, Starfire examined her surroundings and headed to the right building next to a large sitting satellite. She spotted a small air ducts opening near the corner of the building and figured she was small enough to fit right in. She started making her way to the air duct when the main entrance to the building swooshed open below.

For a second, she questioned the random opening of the door. But she then quickly dismissed it realizing Cyborg typically always opens the main doors to buildings as a way for the team members to easily get in.

She stepped into the dimly lit building as the entrance doors swooshed closed behind.

She pulled out her communicator once more to check if any signal had come through, however there had been no change.

 _Perhaps I can check if there is an open Wi-Fi connection?_ Although technology wasn't her main suit, she had learned quite a bit from the countless amount of technology ramblings that Cyborg and Nightwing partook in throughout the years.

She checked for open networks but everything seemed to be password protected. _Reminder to self, ask Dick or Cyborg for hacking lessons,_ she mentally scolded herself.

She flew around for about 3 minutes up and down a few flights of stairs. She was about to enter a wooded door when she faintly heard energy beams being blasted from a few buildings to her left. The familiar buzzing noise that reverberated from the beams could only be one person. "Cyborg!"

The Tamaranian rushed out the building to find the source of the commotion. Back outside, she was able to see bright white lights being emitted from a larger flat building near the center of the energy corridor. There was already a hole made from an energy beam on one of the large windows. She used this crevice to fly in.

Upon entering, she immediately had to dodge an incoming blast from Cyborg's cannon. "Starfire!" yelled Cyborg from below. "Watch out! There are about seven of those robots from a while back!"

She nodded and flew down towards her comrade. "Are you okay?" she asked. Cyborg shook his head in response. "About ten minutes ago, I lost all contact with the other members. Something or someone is purposely jamming our signal. Then out of nowhere those robots attacked me. They opened up a hidden door that leads to a bottom floor, but the floor plan to what's beneath this building is not available in the blue prints on the building," he stated reading the blueprint on the screen on his left arm.

Starfire ran a quick hand through her thick hair. "Well, there is only one way to find out. I will go and catch up to them. Wait here for the remaining members."

Cyborg let out a quick sarcastic laugh, "You know damn right you ain't going anywhere by yourself. Last thing I need is Nightwing grilling me if you came home with a single scratch," he replied.

She raised an eyebrow. "Friend, I have always been able to take care of myself." Cyborg looked at her knowing she had a good point. "I'm going with you. Let's go."

Starfire sighed and found the access point to the wide and long spiraling staircase down. Cyborg reached his hand up as Starfire grabbed it lifting him into the air and flying directly down to the last floor.

She let him go a few feet from the tiled floor. "Thanks for the lift," he commented as he scanned the area for any additional information. "Nothing, I am not picking them up at all, although I am picking up a heat signature about 200 ft from this wall northwest to us."

Starfire glanced at the wall and exhaled deeply recognizing there were four doors, which could lead practically anywhere. "And you did state this entire area is not listed in any maps correct?"

Cyborg stepped closer to the designated wall. "That is correct," joining her as he greatly exhaled in annoyance. "I'll take the far left and you take the far right."

The tanned beauty nodded in agreement whilst pushing through her selected door.

She entered a long hallway and noticed the temperature dropped at least 30 degrees. _Strange…_

She continued to make her way for another 15 minutes on what seemed like a wild goose chase. She wasn't sure what she was looking for and as far as she could tell she wouldn't know how to precisely get back.

The current hall she was in had another four doors she could try but the large metal door directly ahead immediately caught her attention. She ran to it but realized it was electronically locked via the hand print reader slightly to her right.

 _Okay, I will learn to hack now if it is the last thing I do,_ she mentally berated herself once more in irritation. She knew she could easily either break the door down or fry the electronic pad, but she remembered Nightwing's earlier meeting about minimizing damage while on missions about two weeks ago.

She shrugged and turned around to see what the other doors might hold when a muffled yet loud explosion was heard from behind the metal door. _Alright, goodbye keypad,"_ she told herself as she lit a green starbolt and shot it at the electronic pad.

A short second later, the door zoomed open. Before walking through she noticed how there was no light beyond the door. She lit a small orb of light in her hand and carefully walked through. A few steps in she realized whatever made the explosion was perhaps in another room past this.

She lit her energy orb stronger in order to see more. She was about halfway through a large open room. The floor seemed to change in texture from the other rooms and hallways as well. She noticed another metal door about 30 ft away from her. She smiled picking up her pace.

This door involved turning a wheel-like lock in order to proceed. She placed her hands on it and started turning left. There was a large clock and the door slowly began opening when a large whirring noise above her activated followed by a large red beam shooting down at her. All the lights in the room turned on instantly.

The Tamaranian barely managed to dodge it in time by diving back. She fell back onto her rear when she realized the tile she was currently on turned red as the large laser that shot at her moments ago moved to that exact tiled square and shot again.

Starfire rolled to her right yet again dodging the intense beam, yet the squared tile she rolled to also turned red followed by the laser directly above moving to make another assault. She quickly charged up a starbolt and was about to shoot when a laser beam shot at her from her right.

"NO!" she tightly closed her eyes and yelled preparing herself for the worst when she felt an immense pressure roll her back behind the blasts. With her eyes squeezed shut she heard both laser shoot their beams.

She opened her eyes with the realization of her body firmly gripping the hard figure lying openly beneath her. Her face was buried in someone's chest. She quickly raised her head knowing the lasers would soon move.

 _Wait, what?!_

The memorable white skulled mask stared directly into her while hastily shouting, "Get the top one and I'll get the other!"

The tile beneath them had already turned red and the beams were soon to follow. Starfire rolled off the man's body and aimed one hand above and the other to the right. In that split second both lasers were blasted as their metal parts shattered onto the floor.

Still lying on her back, she slowly let her arms fall to the floor finally processing the last 20 seconds. Red X leisurely made his way standing directly above her. He then crossed his arms. "I prefer you straddling me a different way, but who am I to complain."

She snickered at his usual egotistical remarks. She knew he was smugly smiling beneath that mask somewhere.

He extended a black-gloved hand in an attempt to help her up. She quickly accepted and was standing next to him. "Why are you here? I am assuming you are the heat signature Cyborg picked up a while ago."

Red X crossed his arms once more tilting his head up. "So your friends are here too. Interesting," he replied while putting his hand near her right hip marginally pulling her in closer. There was a brief ten-second silence.

 _What is he doing?_ She faintly thought to herself.

"It was nice seeing you again," his voice trailed off letting go of his hold on her. He turned around and began walking back towards the metal door with the wheeled-lock.

Starfire felt strange with that last comment from him. _Why would he…_.she began thinking but quickly shifted gears. "Red X! Wait. Are you with those robots? They attacked Cyborg. Are you stealing something? You know I can't let you leave if you are."

He opened the door wide and took a step into the next room as he picked up a metal suitcase from the floor. "Look, I have no idea what you are talking about in terms of robots. I'm only here for this. I was about to make my way out of here when I heard that weapons room go off. I took a quick peek to see who managed to set the weapons off and that's when I saw you." He opened the suitcase and took out a red tube. He added it to the core processer in his suit and closed up the suitcase.

"Like I said, it was nice seeing you again," he distantly stated while walking away.

Starfire flew to his side grabbing the palm of his left hand as he stood still facing the other way. "Thanks for saving me back there."

Red X remained facing away from her. He swiftly took off his mask with his free hand.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Alright it's been a looooong time since I updated. So so so sorry about that. I was busy with school and making a Starfire cosplay. ***w** **hich by the way I completed ^_^** ***** Anywho, I'll update super soon.**


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